Hi Hetal,

I have a 11 month old son who was detected with light pnemonia couple of days back. The doc said that he had light inflamation in the bottom right side of the lungs. He is on antibiotics now. He has a very bad cough and cold and is very heavily congested...has no fever though.He is pretty active throughout the day (at times he does get a bit restless though).His diet has reduced by half...is taking around 6-8 spoons of khichdi or apple sauce or vegetable soup or at times around 8-9 pieces of sauted tofu and around 20 ounces of formula in the whole day. He has been on formula ever since he was born(as i had a medical prob and could not breastfeed him).

I would really appreciate if you can advice me on the kind of food I shld avoid giving him now and what all do i need to take care of.Your advice (to other ppl here)has always been very helpful to me and I really hope you can help me around here.

Thanks,
Minoo.

P.S- forgot to mention ..his weight now is 21.9lbs Hetal replied. at first, his lack of apetite is because of antibiotics and until he is totally recoverd,,he will not feel interest in food...so you have keep trying whatever he accepts.

secndly, you need to take care of the following :

1. keep your child away from smoke,dust or any strong smells that might trigger a coughing sensation.any strong fumes like perfumes,detergents, or ne other room freshners are to b avoided atleast until he recovers,,give your baby warm baths before his goodnight sleep,,to make sure that all allergens is out of his body and that he recovers better,,,after bath, apply baby vicks in his feet, chest,back of the chest,a touch just below the ears,,and a touch on forehead,almost high below the hair,,,..take a very lil lavender or pine oil and just give your a light baby head massage...he will like it...if the oil is pure you wont need much,,its the smell that will soothe him for easy breathing and congestion...and making your baby head greasy is not needed,,just a touch of it is just enoug !
eucalyptus is also a good option but i wil not recmnd it,,its strong and babies at 11montths dont need that strong oil !!! if you still want,,you can add one drop of ecul oil with 10-15drops of coconut oil,.,make sure he doesnt get the watery eyes,,,i will rather avoid,,upto you !

2. for speedy recovery, a good humidifier or a vaporizer will help him soothe his nasal and throat passages,,,for this cough and cold symptms related to lungs is broncho pneumonia,,a cool mist humidifier will help him. this may also help him sleep better...make sure to clean the humidifier or the filter in it, as recmnded by the manufacturer..avoid using ne vapors or ne oils in humidifiers,,your baby is having symtpms associated with lungs and not a common cold...so avoid ne strong smellss...

3. dont let your baby get overexcited..if he gets hyper active, soothe him and settle him...often hyperactiveness makes them breathe faster and might trigger a bad coughing...at the same time, make his playtime pleasant...activities like sitting and doing things,,avoiding jumping,,getting overexcited and thn drooling because of that.

4. avoid visits to open parks for a while...allergens thre might cause your baby cough to trigger which may reduce the recovery rate...visit indoor places where there is no wind bringing the allergens.

5.you can decrease the chances of getting him into the loop of recurring infections by washing your hands everytime after any housing or cleaning acitivites,before taking care of your baby,,or wear gloves so that frequent washing is not required.,,also,,,purell is safe enough to replace water,soap..

6.now the diet part,,,make sure your baby gets plenty of liquids...the more the water,,,the earlier mucus will thin out and will flush out from his system...give your baby,whatever he likes,,this time he will be very fusy eating foods,,so offer whatever he wants for the time being,,later you can switch him to diet you want,,,include lots of protein in his diet,,fruits,vegetables,,multigrains,wholegrains,,with tofu that you are offering,,offer warm lentil soup,,with lots of vegies,,make it a bit thick with multigrain bread pieces in it,,or pieces of roti in it,,,
avoid offering dairy for the time being,,give only the required like milk, or a dash of ghee in his soup of khichadi,,,
try to offer mini meals,,like every 3hours,,see if he is ready to eat,,keep diff types of foods ready, and see if your baby is able to accept diff things in one day,,which might make him interested in food...
avoid msg,margarine,sugar,cane sugar,or brown sugar,chocolate or ne kind of other sweetnrs like jaggery,,avoid ne food that contains soda,ne extra fatty foods...give him natural sweetness with banana,raisins,carrots,sweetpotato, or ne other fruits,vegies,,
include, protein rich foods,, greens and barley in his diet..barley is very good source of vit a and c,,see if he takes that.,,
often in pneumonia, juice of carrot,in combo of either spinach or beet with cucumber,,help to heal better with ayurvedic viewpoint..

7, in your next well child checkup,,ask your dr if your baby needs flu shots every season ! enroll for one, if so,,tell him, that you would like to give it every season if it will helps prevent recurring flu,,,because once that your baby has shown sensitivity to it, the possibility increases as he grows,,and that once your baby is already attacked by it,,,in many cases the loop goes on,in every season,,,,and then let dr decide if he needs one every season..

8.make sure that he doesnt catch fever,,keep him cosy but at the same time make him wear airy clothes,,,make sure his feet, hand,chest, throat and head are fully covered during winters or windy days,,or during autumn or fall season wherein wind is too much and there are lots of allergens,,,,,

avoid wool near the nose or mouth area,,like sweater..,,,,instead make him wear 2-3layers or one thermal and 1-2layers of clothes dpending on climate you are staying.. or even those wind jackets/snow/fall jackets...
are good,,they have a good warm lining inside,,that is also fine,,.
if he happens to catch fever,,ask your dr if tylnol or ne other medicine has to be given,,that will control fever...call you dr if :
you see him having shortness of breath, shaking chills, or persistent fevers. his breathing is rapid or painful,,11months old can easily show his uneasiness if at all he will have it..,,,,coughs up bloody or rust-colored mucus,,points towards chest, or keeps hand on chest,,which means that he is having chest pain mostly after cough.his night time wetness in diapers increases highly in a day or so,,even after recovery he continues losing weight with noticble figures,,,dont wait for my reply in that case ! just call your dr.

9.lastly,,offer medications on time,ask your dr about its dosage and offer until recomended...about inflamation in right lungs,,its mostly common in patients of Pneumonia,,and when its associated with severe cough,,mostly right lung is inflamed more !
right now, for mehis weight is not a concern for me, because he is taking medications/antibiotics so its not his actual wght...but ne reduction in wght is alarming,,,take care !
take care !!!